Set between 2011's Dead
Island and the upcoming sequel, Escape is a
single player, story driven instalment. Players control new
character Cliff Calo, described as "the spoiled son of a powerful
media mogul", as he and his friends try to uncover the truth behind
the undead outbreak on the tropical island of Banoi. For anyone
invested in the series' rich narrative (ahem), the game will reveal
the cause of the zombie infection for the first time.

The game retains the core open world exploration aspect of the
main games, but seems to focus more on combat, survival, and puzzle
solving. Cliff is also seen taking photos, indicating part of the
game may involve documenting the Banoi incident. Setting this game
between the two main instalments would appear to overshadow, if not
eliminate, Dead Island
Riptide, though we doubt many people would complain.

Escape Dead Island is also set to add a psychological
aspect, with Cliff suffering repeated mental breakdowns. The world
turns red, white, and black, crumbling around him as time loops in
on itself. Adopting a heavily-inked, comic book visual style,
Escape is already the most striking
game in the series, and if it lives up to its themes of
psychosis and perceived reality, it could be the deepest, too. No
really, there could be something more than wholesale zombie
slaughter on offer here!

Although German studio Yager is developing Dead
Island 2 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, Deep
Silver's announcement didn't reveal the actual development team on
Escape. The new game is also only confirmed for PS3, Xbox
360, and PC -- odd, when it's meant to lead into the next gen-only
sequel. Hopefully more info, and formats, will be revealed
before Escape Dead Island launches later in 2014.